Black queer artists like Ma Rainey, James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Lorraine Hansberry, and Essex Hemphill have all made it a bit easier for me to dream. I was born in a perfect era as a feminine black gay man interested in being apart of pop culture and music to have a fighting chance of making a living off of that desire. The dreams I’m dreaming are large, but tangible. They are made possible because of the legacies black gay artists before me have left.

However, there is no black gay artist that opened up my imagination about who I can be while affirming who I am like disco icon—often referred to as The Queen of Disco—Sylvester.

Ask any gay bar patron in Hell’s Kitchen or WeHo who their favorite pop diva is and you’re likely to get one of four responses: Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé or Lady Gaga. Older audiences may throw in Cher or Janet Jackson, while youths may stan for Ariana Grande or Rihanna. One thing’s for sure, though: it’s unlikely you’re going to find someone who ranks P!nk as their ultimate diva. But why is that?

“We learned absolutely nothing about gay and lesbian people at home,” says Ruth Pointer, the eldest member of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters. It’s a surprising revelation, given the group — which was originally comprised of sisters Anita, Bonnie and June — has long supported the LGBTQ community and makes a habit of appearing at Pride festivals around the country, including this weekend at the Capital Pride Concert. But the sisters grew up in a strict religious household, where gay rights were never discussed.

“It wasn’t until we started in the music business, and got in touch with the scene over in Haight-Ashbury that we really came in contact with anyone who was gay,” Pointer says. Helping in their gay education was Sylvester James, who would not only become a friend, but go from being a member of avant-garde drag troupe The Cockettes to international fame as a star in his own right.

June 1st kicks off Billboard’s month long 30 Days of Pride, an initiative to highlight LGBTQ Pride Month. To celebrate, some of the biggest names in music have penned heartfelt love letters to the LGBTQ community, thanking them for both their strength and support.

“Your stories are what inspire me, bring me joy and make me and my sons strive to be better people," shared Britney Spears in her specially handwritten letter.

No one has ever said, “Gee, I wonder what Cher is thinking.” During her six-decade career as a singer and actor, she has earned a reputation for blunt opinions, clothes that reveal more than they conceal and an unchaste flair for expletives. Long before the acronym DGAF was in vogue, Cher had no F’s to give. In one of her most infamous moments, she called David Letterman “an asshole” -- to his face, and on his own TV show.

“They don’t make them like her anymore,” says Pink. “She is the smartest, wittiest, most sharp-shooting rock star ever. And her style was always the most fearless.” Cher has won an Oscar, a Grammy and an Emmy. She has had 22 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and because of her unmatched longevity, she was the first artist to score a No. 1 single on a Billboard chart in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s.

“Art keeps me alive,” the 58-year-old music icon tells Harper’s Bazaar. “I’ve obviously been devastated or heartbroken all my life, since my mother’s death. I’ve had so many challenges throughout my career, however successful people perceive me to be. The only way I’ve been able to survive the betrayal of lovers, family members, and society is to be able to create as an artist.”

After more than 30 years in entertainment, Madonna still has an unquenchable thirst. Beyond art, it’s her desire to “inspire” people and the want to “touch people’s hearts to get them to look at life in a different way,” that constantly propels the Michigan-native forward.

Carey’s camp has said the singer was “sabotaged” by the show for ratings. Dick Clark Productions fired back, calling the claims “defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.”

A source close to the production tells Page Six: “It was totally [Carey’s] screw-up .?.?. Her assistant came out for the sound check, not her.” Our insider added of Carey, “All her dancers were in step. Everybody else onstage heard the track. Even without [the earpiece] there were eight speakers onstage. It was not the sound people.”

Mariah Carey sang a furious tune on Sunday — with the pop diva’s camp blaming her disastrous New Year’s Eve performance on “sabotage” by the TV show’s producers.

Carey’s manager sent a letter on New Year’s Day to Dick Clark Productions, saying they set the “Emotions” singer up for failure by letting her take the stage before more than a million people in Times Square — and millions more watching at home — with malfunctioning sound gear.

“You know her inner ears were NOT working and your entire production team did not set her up to win,” the manager, Stella Bulochnikov, wrote to Mark Shimmel, whose company produced Carey’s TV nightmare, which was broadcast live on ABC.

“AND MARIAH KEPT TELLING THEM [something was wrong] ON STAGE IN REAL TIME,” Bulochnikov typed in all caps in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.